Steve Knight says he will again meet with constituents

WASHINGTON - The First Amendment protects speech, religion and the press but it also extends the right of citizens to petition the government for a “redress of grievances.”

Some members of Congress would apparently prefer not to be petitioned in person.

“Due to this year's heavy legislative schedule, we regret that we are unfortunately unable to hold in-person town halls in California at this point in time,” second-term Republican Steve Knight’s webpage said Monday.

That notice was posted weeks ago and, by late morning Monday, Knight’s spokesman Dan Outlaw said it was “outdated,” and that the congressman has scheduled a town hall for March 4. The website notice provided information for constituents to participate in the telephone conference on an unspecified date on which they would be called, not call in themselves.

Before jumping aboard a flight for Washington, Knight, a Lancaster Republican whose district includes Simi Valley, released a statement: ”Listening to members of our community is a top priority for me, which is why we are hosting tele town halls as well as face-to-face meetings to answer questions and address concerns. While the legislative schedule prevented us from holding an in-person event until now, we are pleased to invite residents of California’s 25th District to a town hall meeting on March 4.”

Outlaw said the time and place of the meeting haven’t been determined. Knight’s last telephone town hall was Feb. 6 and had about 500 on the line at its peak, Outlaw said.

Members of Congress are finding large crowds of sometimes angry voters awaiting them as Republicans return home to their districts after President Donald Trump took office and the GOP retained control of both the House and Senate.

Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, met constituents demanding that he investigate Trump’s conflicts of interest and wondering about his plan to sell off public land. Chaffetz later told a local television station he believed outside agitators were sent to disrupt last Thursday’s session.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he thought protesters are part of a “paid, Astroturf-type” movement, not a legitimate grassroots campaign.

In Florida, Congressman Gus Bilirakis took questions about plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act from a packed house Saturday morning and was repeatedly interrupted and booed. Tennessee Congressman John Duncan’s constituents demanded that he hold a public event after a letter he wrote surfaced in which he said he did not plan to “give more publicity to those on the far left who have so much hatred, anger and frustration in them,” and called protesters “sore losers.”

California Democratic freshman Jimmy Panetta held a town hall meeting Sunday at which a number of Spanish-speaking agriculture workers talked of their fears about a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, The Salinas Californian reported. A Feb. 4 immigration forum organized by Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver was disrupted by demonstrators. The same day, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., required a police escort to escape his town hall in Placer County. On Jan. 14, even before Trump was sworn in, Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., used a back door to avoid angry constituents attending his community event.

It’s not the first time members of Congress have found in-person interaction with constituents unwelcome. In 2009, the Tea Party movement gained momentum after angry voters disrupted Democratic members’ meetings with constituents to denounce what would become the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare, and other aspects of President Barack Obama’s agenda. Then-Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., left a meeting that year after being shoved by an angry crowd.

For as long as there has been a United States, voters have demanded the attention of their representatives and usually got it, said Bradford Fitch, co-author of a recent study, “Citizen-Centric Advocacy: The Untapped Power of Constituent Engagement.”

Fitch, CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, found that, contrary to public opinion, which views constituents’ opinion as having little influence on lawmakers, those views do have a significant impact. Fitch said it would be a “tragedy” if members of Congress stopped meeting with constituents or held fewer town halls. He said members have in the past declined to meet with constituents but it has usually been temporary largely because most politicians are “political animals” and thrive on such interactions.

But he said telephone conference calls are also valuable because they can reach a “wider swath” of voters.

That’s what Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., planned for Monday night.

“Throughout his time in Congress, Representative Tom MacArthur has always welcomed all views and opinions at his town halls and public events,” his communications director Camille M. Gallo said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, recent town hall meetings across the country have devolved into unproductive shouting matches, with highly-organized, partisan special interest groups effectively hijacking the forums and crowding out local residents who want respectful discourse.

“Congressman MacArthur will continue to host well-attended and informative tele-town hall meetings, like he has since taking office in 2015, so that residents of Burlington and Ocean Counties can engage with him in a productive manner and discuss solutions to the serious issues facing South Jersey and the country,” Gallo continued. “The Congressman fully intends to resume in-person town halls, but he will not be baited by outside groups who are hijacking events to push a political agenda.”